With another former Super Bowl MVP back on the team, maybe the New England Patriots will be able to erase the ugly memory of a recent playoff failure.
The Patriots will be looking for some revenge when they host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
One of the top teams in the AFC for most of the past decade, New England had a certain playoff reputation - especially in home games - that head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady had rightfully earned. And after a year away with Brady on the sidelines, the Patriots were ready to break out that reputation all over again last January.
The Ravens had other plans.
Instead of rolling right over their opponents, New England laid right down and let Baltimore run wild. Ray Rice took a handoff on the very first play of the game and ran it 83 yards for a touchdown and the Ravens were up 24-0 after the first quarter en route to a 33-14 victory. The Patriots allowed 234 rushing yards in their first playoff loss at Gillette Stadium.
New England has bounced back with a 3-1 record through a quarter of its schedule, but will take the field on Sunday for the first time since the 2006 season without Brady’s long-distance security blanket, Randy Moss. The enigmatic wide receiver was sent to Minnesota in exchange for a third-round draft pick over a week ago.
The Patriots used their bye week to bring back Deion Branch in a trade with Seattle, reacquiring one of Brady’s favorite targets and the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIX. Now 31, Branch is not the same threat that he was five years ago, but a stronger overall offense in New England should help him improve on the 13 receptions he had with the Seahawks through four games.
Prior to the bye week, the Patriots used an impressive special teams performance to demolish the Miami Dolphins 41-14. Brandon Tate returned a kickoff for a touchdown, Kyle Arrington ran a blocked field goal back for a touchdown and Patrick Chung ran an interception back for another score.
The Ravens should not be counted on to make those same mistakes. At 4-1, Baltimore looks like the class of the AFC through the first five weeks and is coming off its best offensive performance of the season in a 31-17 victory over the Denver Broncos last week. Rice ran for 133 of the Ravens’ 233 rushing yards and added a pair of touchdowns.
Joe Flacco seems to have gotten over his early-season struggles, throwing four touchdowns against one interception over the last three weeks to complement the ground game and a defense that somehow still ranks among the best in the NFL.
The last regular-season meeting between the teams was at Gillette last October, with the Patriots squeezing out a 27-21 victory. Brady threw a touchdown pass to Moss in the contest.